10th December 2012 by Natasha Kim – CM.
Marketplace Ministry is all about transforming the way you work and the way you do business. It is about bringing the kingdom of God to right where you are, and it is about integrating your faith with your work, letting it align with your work so you are never alone.
The talk held in SIBKL in Bangunan Yin saw many people who were drawn in after work, ranging from younger to older working adults. It began with praise and worship. Tony Tay was the main speaker of the day, but before he came up to speak, former President of Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship (FGBMF) Tan Tek Seng was invited up on stage to share his testimony. A very inspiring man indeed, Tan Tek Seng walks up with his crutches and talks about his life changing experience and about the importance of investing in young people.
In short his story goes like this, in haste to inspect a construction at the back of his house, Brother Tek Seng saw construction workers throw rubbish and tiles inside the monsoon drain. He wanted to take a peep, and in the process he slipped and fell down into the 6 feet monsoon drain. Miraculously he managed to climb up to safety.
On the seventh day of being hospitalized and awaiting diagnosis for his leg, to his doctor's amazement the infection was completely gone. His leg was supposed to be amputated! He thanked the Lord for the miracle of saving him from deep waters and as a result of him sharing this testimony, 11 people came to know the Lord..
Every Testimony of coming to God is great
After Brother Tek Seng shared his testimony, Tony Tay was invited to the front. Tony Tay comes from a humble family background. He was brought up in, Kuching, Sarawak with a family of nine. While he was studying in Australia, he worked numerous jobs to support himself.
As his story goes, in 1983, Tony experienced the greatest turning point in his life when he accepted Christ. He says, "After I became a Christian a lot of miracles happened to me." By God's grace he graduated as a top student. In the year 1988, he migrated to New Zealand because he was offered a job.
Sometimes you have to Expect the Unexpected
He however, ironically lost that job on his first day at work! It so happened that the market collapsed at that time. In addition to that, soon after in the year 1991, he almost hit bankruptcy from getting cheated by his managers. Despite that, he never questioned God and says, "I choose to praise Him and thank Him in all situations" By the miracle of God, he was saved and was given back a hundredfold of what he had lost!
His vision is to fulfill God's purpose. He has experienced many miracles and spiritual blessings in his walk with Christ. In 1997, he was ordained as a Pastor of a Church and realized that, that was his private calling.
Currently, his business empire is one of the largest business groups in New Zealand with 38 companies involved in Property Development and Construction, Tourism and Hospitality, Filming, Media and Newspaper, Training College and Health Care. Today, he is serving full time at Jireh Marketplace Ministry International to train and equip workplace believers.
Listening to his talk, one can clearly observe that he knows the Bible and has studied it comprehensively to the point that he can easily answer any question about Marketplace Ministry. Every answer he has he points it back to the Bible. He says, “As I look through my life journey I ask myself, "Am I really Successful?, Am I really a man of value? or Am I just chasing worldly success?". Before he became a Christian, he was an Atheist and was strongly against Christianity. "One thing we can learn from the scripture is that God does not count the days that you have not met Him." he says.
Find out more. To be continued in the next "Workplace Ministry: What is Real Success?"
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